Look At Me
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: It's Natsuki and Kenji's first date together, the day before her birthday and so Kenji takes her to an amusement park. Natsuki's not good with heights though, and unknowingly, Kenji takes her on the Ferris Wheel. Will it end in disaster? :O


**My very first Summer Wars fic! This movie and this couple needs more love! Sorry if there's OOC-ness. Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Summer Wars. But damn. If I did...**

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Look At Me

Heat waves wafted down through the cities and over the horizon's of Japan's mountains.

The Summer's humidity had been horrible the past few days, but now that the sun was tilting toward the West, the breezes were starting to become less hot and more cool and refreshing.

A girl with azure hair down her back sat patiently at a bench in front of a local amusement park, tugging at her red skirt and white shirt, trying to make sure that every little detail about her was completely flawless.

She dug into her small purse and pulled out her cell phone, glancing at the time. She had arrived half an hour before 5, the decided meeting time between herself and her new boyfriend.

She shuffled her feet, her sandals scraping on the sidewalk and she looked up at the blue sky. When she put her phone away and had nothing more to do with her hands, she began fiddling with her hair.

At last, she heard footsteps and her ears pricked to a familiar voice.

"N-Natsuki-san!" Prickles went up her spine. She was still getting used to him calling her that, but she was glad that he had promoted himself from "Natsuki-senpai".

"Kenji-kun!" she straightened up, a smile beginning to form on her lips.

"Sorry!" he came to a halt beside the bench she sat on. "I'm not late, am I?"

"N-No! You're right on time!" she reassured him.

"O-Oh. I see. That's good." He smiled bashfully and avoided her eyes.

A small awkward silence passed between them. They were both feeling a bit uneasy and nervous, considering this was their first date together.

"C-Come on." Kenji finally spoke up. "Let's go." He offered her his hand and Natsuki coyly slid her fingers into his palm. He pulled her up and led the way into the amusement park. "S-So," Kenji stammered, glancing around the huge park, hoping his hand was not getting sweaty. "Where do you want to go?" He asked. "It's your call." It was July 18th, the day before her birthday and he had wanted to take her somewhere and be the first one to give her her gift.

"Ah…um…" the girl's eyes flashed widely about as she tried to think up a response. "I can't really think of anything right now. Let's just walk around and look."

"Okay." He nodded, trying to sound more confident than he actually felt.

The couple spent about half an hour just wandering around aimlessly together. They passed various different rides and attractions, but they all had extremely crowded lines. They held hands all the while though, which was what was making each of them so happy.

After a few more minutes, Kenji felt a slight tug on his hand and looked back to see that Natsuki was struggling to keep up. Her long, blue hair was plastered to her neck with sweat and her feet and sandals were dusted with dirt. She was hunched over, panting slightly and Kenji automatically felt guilty. "I-I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't realize you were so tired!" he fretted, his voice nearly cracking.

"No, it's alright," she wheezed. "The heat is just getting to me." She straightened up and looked up into his brown eyes, a small smile on her face despite her exhaustion.

"W-Well let's go find a bench." He stammered, trying to seek out a vacant place to sit amongst the crowds of people. "There's one over there. Come on." He squeezed her hand a little tighter and set a slow pace for the bench, trying as best he could not to have them both get knocked around by oncoming people.

When they finally made it, Natsuki gratefully took a seat and let out a long sigh, letting the strap of her purse slide down from her shoulder and unruffled her clothes as best she could. Kenji sat beside her and looked at his girlfriend miserably. This was not the way he had planned for things to go. He reached into his pocket, withdrew a small, white handkerchief, and handed it to her. "Here. I'll go buy us some ice cream. What kind do you like?" he asked.

Natsuki patted her forehead with the material as she replied. "Vanilla, please."

"Okay." Kenji hopped up, ecstatic that there was now something he could do for her. "I'll be as quick as I can." He promised. He did not like the thought of leaving her alone the way she was.

"Alright." Natsuki smiled. "Thank you!" she called out after him as he disappeared into the crowd.

She fidgeted uncomfortably when she realized she was alone then, and she bowed her head, suddenly finding great interest in the ground. She felt stares coming from various people in the crowd and the hair on the back of her neck stood up when she heard a few boys murmuring nearby.

But then she caught sight of Kenji returning and relief washed over her like a wave, her tense shoulders relaxing.

"Wow. That _was_ fast!" she smiled.

"Yeah. I'm really happy the line wasn't that long." He took his seat beside her and handed her her vanilla ice cream, and began working on his own chocolate. The two ate in silence, letting the cold sensations swell in their mouths and spread throughout their bodies. When they had both finally finished and thrown away their trash, the sun was already beginning to set.

"Ah, that was nice." Natsuki sighed happily. But when she glanced at her boyfriend, she noticed that he was looking unhappily downward. "Kenji-kun? What's wrong?"

"W-Well, it's just…I mean…tomorrow's your birthday and I wanted you to have fun today so you could look forward to tomorrow. But we haven't done anything fun." His tone was apologetic.

But Natsuki smiled.

"What are you talking about?" she gently hugged his arm. "I had plenty of fun just being with you today."

Kenji feared he felt another nosebleed coming on from her contact.

"W…Why don't we go ride the Ferris Wheel?" he stammered, changing the subject. "T-The line isn't too long anymore."

"Sure!" Natsuki nodded cheerfully and Kenji blushed.

They walked together toward the ride, the girl still lightly holding onto his arm. The two of them got onto the Ferris Wheel relatively fast and took their seats side-by-side. Natsuki placed her small purse on the floor between her feet and clicked her seatbelt on across her waist. Kenji smiled, grateful that they had managed to make it onto at least one ride that evening.

The wheel began to move slowly and the couple held onto the metal bar before them as it gradually ascended. Kenji's eyes were wide and full of wonder as the world fell away before them and he look out to the distant mountains. But he soon noticed that his girlfriend was not feeling the same way.

"Natsuki-san? Are you okay?" he asked, worried. The girl was nearly cringing when she looked at how high up they were getting. Her arms shook and her hands gripped the metal safety bar so tightly that her knuckles nearly turned white.

"Y-Yes." She stuttered. "I'm just…n-n-not that good with heights."

"Eh?" Kenji cried, shocked. "T-Then why didn't you say anything when I suggested the Ferris Wheel?"

"It…It didn't look that big from down there…" she murmured, flinching as the speed of the ride increased a bit more and they were raised higher.

"T-Then close your eyes!" The boy fretted, panicked at the thought that she would get sick.

"No. That only makes it feel like it's higher than it actually is." She replied weakly. "And it's not like I can't _look _at anything. If I look ahead I'll see us getting higher a-and if I look down…" she did not finish her sentence.

Kenji was frantic and he raked his brain for something, _anything_ that might help her.

"Then…" he finally said. "Look at me."

There was silence for a moment as Natsuki slowly raised her head.

"H-Huh?"

"Like I said, look at me." He repeated. "If you can't close your eyes or look ahead or down then just look at me." His tone was determined now, as though this were his life mission that he had been waiting to fulfill up until now.

"M…Mm." Natsuki nodded, her cheeks flushing red as she gazed up at him, their chocolate-brown gazes locking with each other some one hundred feet off the ground. As they neared the top, Natsuki pressed as close to him as possible and Kenji laid his arm across her shoulders. He rested his chin on her head and she buried her face into his shirt. They stayed that was as the wheel went around once more, until Kenji gently shook her shoulder.

"Natsuki-san." He said softly. "We're almost at the top again. Look."

Slowly, she obeyed and raised her head, still clutching onto his shirt as though she would fall off and plummet to the Earth below if she did not.

Her eyes sparkled as she saw the scene before her. The sky was orange and red with flame as the sun sunk behind the distant horizon in an array of gold and yellow. The greens of the trees in the forests and purples of the mountains were highlighted by the dying sunlight, making every color seem more bright and vivid than ever before.

Natsuki's jaw dropped the tiniest bit and she forgot to breathe for a moment.

Then, she felt Kenji gingerly turn her shoulders so that she faced him. "U-Um, I…I wanted to give you your gift later, in case you didn't feel well, but…is now okay?" he checked.

"…Yes." She replied steadily. "I'm fine now." A smile crossed her face.

"O-Okay then."

For a moment he just sat there, looking at her bashfully and her eyes watched him patiently, waiting for him to reach into his pocket and present her with some sweet little trinket.

But instead, he placed one hand on either of her shoulders, taking her by surprise.

Then, he leaned down and kissed her full on the lips.

Natsuki's heart came screeching to a halt, but she quickly recovered and closed her eyes, kissing back as best she could.

It was a sweet, caring kiss, and they both wished it could have lasted forever.

But the pesky entity known as oxygen got in their way and forced them apart, both slightly panting.

"H-Happy birthday…N-Natsuki-chan!" He forced himself to say the words, hoping it did not sound odd.

The girl gasped slightly and looked up at him in surprise before pure joy and delight flooded her gaze.

"Kenji-kun…" she trailed off, feeling tears starting to well up in her eyes. Then she shot forward and hugged him with all her might. "Thank you so much!" she squeaked. The boy stuttered, caught off guard until he finally returned her embrace.

They stayed in each other's arms until the Ferris Wheel descended for the last time and let them off. Kenji was reluctant to let her go as was Natsuki and she unbuckled her seatbelt and picked up her purse. Wordlessly, they then grinned at one another and entwined their fingers as they made their way to the exit of the amusement park.

Kenji saw as plain as day that she was beat and his suspicions were proved correct when she stumbled and nearly fell. He pulled her arm across his shoulders and let her lean against him as he led her the rest of the way out. The couple then sat down on the same bench they had met at earlier, and let out accomplished, yet tired sighs.

"Are you okay?" he asked again and she nodded.

"Just a bit tired." She admitted.

"T-Then you should sleep." He told her. "I mean it's not that late yet and I'll walk you back home." He promised. "And then I'll see you tomorrow and give you your real gift."

"Okay, sounds good…" her voice trailed off and her heavy eyelids closed. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he pulled her closer. "Thanks again, Kenji-kun…" she breathed softly, her heartbeat dropping into that of someone's in slumber.

"No problem." He smiled down at her. Then, Kenji kissed the top of her head before resting his chin there. "Happy birthday, Natsuki-chan."

Then he smiled as he felt the small velvet box in his pocket, hardly able to wait to give her her real birthday present tomorrow.

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**A/N: Gee. I wonder what he's gonna give her? ;3 **

**So, was it any good? Lemme know!**

**Please review! **


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